The chair's craft
The role of the chair and running the agenda.
Two and a half hours on the chair's craft: what chairing is for, the chair and chief executive partnership, preparing the agenda and reaching decisions in the room.
- Level
- Focus
- Learning time
- 2 hours 30 minutes
- Where
- Chairing Meetings, Boards and Committees
- Price
- £69
When you step up to a higher level, what you paid in the last 12 months for lower-level courses inside the bigger course comes off its price, in proportion to how much of each is inside it, whichever topic it's from. Courses at the same or a lower level don't give credit against each other. A Focus course or above always costs at least £15. Read the full terms
Certificate of Completion, or Certificate of Completion and Assessment with a short assessment
Overview and Outcomes.
Who It's For
Chairs and those preparing to chair boards and committees
Overview
Good chairing is a craft rather than a seat, and in public service it shapes the quality of every decision a board or committee makes. This programme starts with what chairing is for, using the four Ps of purpose, process, people and product and comparing traditions from Citrine's ABC of Chairmanship to Quaker business method. It then follows the chair and chief executive partnership into the room, moves to the work done before a meeting, through Lencioni's meeting types, agendas and papers that offer assurance rather than reassurance, and closes in the live craft of discussion and decision, drawing on Kaner's Diamond of Participation and Kline's Thinking Environment.
Aims
This programme aims to develop chairs, and those preparing to chair, who treat the role as stewardship of other people's time and thinking. It builds the judgement to decide what a meeting is for, to prepare the room without settling the verdict, and to guide a board from open debate to a clear decision it can stand behind together.
In summary, you will be able to:
- Explain what chairing is for, using the four Ps and Rogelberg's idea of stewardship, and assess whether a proposed meeting genuinely needs to happen.
- Design an agenda, cover sheet and chair's brief that classify each item by purpose and prepare the room without settling the verdict.
- Lead discussion from opening to decision, using structured moves, clear summaries and fitting decision rules that draw out the room's best thinking rather than its loudest voice.
What you'll develop
Through this Focus course, you will build the ability to:
- Explain why chairing is a craft rather than a seat, and describe the chair's responsibilities using purpose, process, people and product.
- Assess whether a proposed meeting genuinely needs to happen by identifying whether it is for a decision, an update or a discussion.
- Describe the chair's four part role and explain what the chair and chief executive each owe the other.
- Apply the principles of clear roles, no surprises, calm public disagreement and protection with challenge when chair and chief executive are in the room together.
- Identify which of Lencioni's four meeting types fits a conversation and recognise the common signs of a mismatch.
- Plan a meeting opening and run each agenda item using the five moves of frame, clarify, debate, test and record.
Built from 2 parts.
2 hours 30 minutes of learning.
- 01The chair's true purposeRole of the chair and good governanceBitesize2 modules
- 02From agenda to decisionMeeting agendas, papers and decision makingBitesize2 modules
Keep going.
Part of the Chairing Meetings, Boards and Committees topic, also sold whole as In the chair.
Go deeper, and pay only the difference
- You are hereFocus, 2 hours 30 minutes, £69
- The whole topicExplore, In the chair, 5 hours 30 minutes, £129. Already own the Focus? You pay £60.
When you step up to a higher level, what you paid in the last 12 months for lower-level courses inside the bigger course comes off its price, in proportion to how much of each is inside it, whichever topic it's from. Courses at the same or a lower level don't give credit against each other. A Focus course or above always costs at least £15. Prices per person. Read the full terms
Also part of: Governing with confidence, Serving your community well